Free The Child Comes First by Elizabeth Ashtree

thousand.”
    While this would seem impossible for a youthful defendant without any family, Simon had already decided to front the ten percent required to make bail for her. He’d get it back when she appeared in court, anyway, and it wouldn’t be missed from his sizable bank account.
    â€œAnd the defendant will wear an electronic monitor at all times,” concluded the judge.
    Simon’s heart sank. Electronic ankle monitors were extremely inconvenient. His mother couldn’t and wouldn’t leave Tiffany home alone, and now she’d need permission every time they wanted to go anywhere together. And the monitoring agent wouldn’t give them permission, except for court-related trips and for health purposes. It would mean he’d have to play an even greater role in Tiffany’s care than he’d expected. Otherwise, his mother might begin to feel like a prisoner, too.
    â€œYour Honor, I ask that you reconsider the monitor. This child is not a flight risk and—”
    â€œI’ve made my decision, counselor. We’re done here,” the judge said, banging his gavel down conclusively.
    As he sat down to put all their documents back into a folder, Simon glanced toward Jayda and saw that she understood the negative implications of this ruling. That was a good thing, because now he’d really need her help. His career and lifestyle could not be put completely on hold in order to babysit Tiffany Thompson. Jayda had talked him into taking on this case, so she’d have to step up to the plate and do her part, too. Yet even as he thought about foisting a large portion of the responsibility for Tiffany off on the social worker, a surprising thing happened.
    Tiffany spontaneously stood and put her arms around his neck, giving him a big, warm hug. Simon didn’t know what he should do, and he found himself awkwardly patting the girl on the shoulder, noticing that she smelled like Ivory soap, which reminded him of his own childhood. He hoped she’d step back quickly. Instead, she whispered, “Thank you for getting me out of juvie, Mr. Montgomery.” Then she let go and turned toward her new foster mother.
    Simon sat there, assaulted by emotions he refused to name. His gaze lifted to Jayda’s eyes once more. She stood by, looking down at him with what appeared to be wholehearted approval mixed with a measure of sympathy. He felt understood, in a way he hadn’t experienced before. And this was so disturbing that he got to his feet too fast, nearly toppling his chair.
    They were crawling into his heart, he could feel it—Jayda and Tiffany were invading his life. He had to resist. His mentor and senior partner Glen Boyden had all but told Simon he should marry Glen’s niece, or someone just like her. Someone like Megan, perhaps. Simon had worked hard to encourage the impression that he would do whatever it took to advance his career—even marry the right woman in order to enhance his image. Becoming partner had been his goal for so long, he’d forgotten there could be anything more important, despite his mother’s repeated efforts to correct his thinking. He wouldn’t let normal, ordinary Jayda or the kid with the hugs get in the way of that now.

CHAPTER FIVE
    â€œA ND HE WAS ALWAYS GOOD at sports,” Barbara Johanson told Tiffany. “Carl and I encouraged him. We figured if he was busy, he wouldn’t get into trouble.”
    Simon stayed with the females as Tiffany waded through the long process for the monitoring device and Barbara entertained her with stories from Simon’s childhood. There had been the garden snake he’d brought home as a pet, claiming it would grow into a boa constrictor. And he’d taken his bicycle apart entirely one day, to see how it worked, but then had been unable to put it back together without hours of help from his father.
    â€œOkay, enough with the stories about little Simon,” he said